I frequently have leftover buns, crusts, etc. Besides throwing them away what can I do with them? I don't make stuffing often and rarely use bread crumbs. The only thing I've thought of that we eat are croutons. So, if you have a good crouton recipe I would be interested in that. I rarely eat sandwiches and the kids are finicky about a sandwich made with a hot dog bun or bread crusts.

To me, this recipe is gross, but the little old lady in this video is so sweet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qptfhu9R0WI&feature=channel
My friend made us some delicious croutons once, and she said that she cut the bread up into cubes, drizzled olive oil on them and added garlic powder and Parmesan cheese and then baked them in the oven. I don't even LIKE Parmesan cheese, and they were really good. We put them in some thick soup (chowder, I think).
Btw, here is a GREAT recipe that uses bread crumbs--made it the other day:
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000302shrimp_cakes.php

Directions
1. Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Put half of the bread cubes in the dish evenly covering the bottom of the dish.
Next, put the cream cheese cubes and blueberries evenly on top of the bread cubes.
Then, add the rest of the bread cubes over the blueberries and cream cheese.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs using a mixer. Then beat in milk and the 1/2 cup syrup.
Pour egg mixture evenly over the top layer of bread cubes. Cover and put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hoursand up to 24 hours.

3. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes at 375. Uncover and put back in the oven and bake about 25 minutes more or
until a knife comes out clean, and topping is lightly browned.
Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with blueberry-flavored or maple syrup.

*Note: Bread can by dried by arranging on a wire rack, covering loosely and letting stand overnight.
Or cut bread into cubes and spread in a large baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes at 300 or until dry, stirring twice; cool.

Well, the homemade croutons have been a big hit in my house! This was a frugal find for me because it didn't really cost me anything and the kids love them.

I googled how to make croutons. I devised my own recipe from what I found and the info posted here.

I set my oven to 350 degrees. In a large fry pan on medium heat, I put in cubed bread, lightly drizzled it with olive oil then I sprinkled on garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and parmesan cheese. I think pepper would be good too. Then I mixed well and sprinkled on the seasonings again. Mixed again, then tasted one. Decided I wanted a little more flavor so I sprinkled on seasonings again. I had it on the burner for about 5-7 minutes. Then I put the pan in the oven to toast the croutons. Checked every five minutes and stirred them. Had them in the oven for 15-17 minutes before I felt they were toasted enough. They turned out great! The kids loved them. They snack on them, put them on top of soup and salads. I also sprinkled them on top of a casserole and it added a nice crunch and extra flavor.

I will never buy croutons again, these were way better than any store bought ones :-)

When making them at home, you don't have to do it the same way every time, simply use what you have and know that the result will be good or if it's not, feed the birds and squirrels.

Your mention of adding pepper to croutons reminded me of cracked pepper, which I love. Simply put 1/4 to one teaspoon peppercorns in a heavy-weight small plastic bag (or on a cutting board under a cotton dish-towel so the pieces won't fly), and strike with the bottom of a heavy saucepan, but strike at a slight oblique angle. Direct bashing does accomplish the job but the pieces will be very small and won't be as fragrant of the pepper oil . Using an oblique strike, the peppercorns split into halves or 3-5 pieces. Smell them: like exotic perfume. Wonderful sprinkled on croutons before they go into the oven, or into the salad, or for crusting a steak to be seared, in bread/biscuit/flatbread dough, anywhere you want the essence of pepper without a lot of flake.